Grand Theatre
1101 Oak Street,
Conway,
AR
72032
1101 Oak Street,
Conway,
AR
72032
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closing article:
Grand theatre closing 19 Apr 1956, Thu The Log Cabin Democrat (Conway, Arkansas) Newspapers.com
Grand opening ad posted.
Another Grand theatre opened in town at the H. B. Ingram building on January 10th, 1910 per:
The Grand Theatre opened September 19, 1912 equipped with two Powers 6-A projectors and showing films. The Grand closed January 30, 1956 at the end of its leasing agreement with “Untamed Mistress” and “The Sleeping Tiger.” In 1958, a retailer had taken over the space.
The Grand has not been demolished, just extensively remodeled. The auditorium appears to have been gutted and subdivided for retail space, but the stage tower is still standing. As of 2017, the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, which had the building under contract for purchase (the purchase had been completed by July 2018), was looking into the possibility of returning the structure to theatrical use, as noted in this article from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The article says the Grand closed in 1956.
A house called the Grand Theatre was listed at Conway in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. I’m not positive that it was the same Grand, but given the age of the bricks of the surviving stage tower it’s certainly likely. The Grand was also advertised in the December 10, 1916 Log Cabin Democrat, a local daily.
The corner store now in the Grand’s building, Vesta’s, is at 1101 Oak Street, so we need to update the theater’s address.